The Phoenix Theatre Company is thrilled to announce Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre 2026 tickets are now on sale!
Past season hits like The Roads to Loch Lomond, Let the Good Times Roll, and We Ain’t Ever Gonna Break Up: The Hymon & Parfunkel Musical got their start here. Through the Festival, our community helped nurture these stories, shaping them into the productions audiences celebrate today, including the announced Broadway production of Let the Good Times Roll.
All Festival events will be held in the Judith Hardes Theatre from January 9 – 25, 2026. For information about programming and tickets, click here!
Where Artists Risk, Explore, and Create
Hosted annually by The Phoenix Theatre Company, the Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre amplifies new voices and expands the canon of American theatre. The 2026 Festival will continue honoring our longstanding commitment to the development of new works, youth and adult playwrights, and performers, and include a variety of events that allow artists of all kinds to see their work come alive onstage.
From New Works to New Favorites
Whether you’re a longtime fan or looking forward to attending for the first time in 2026, you’re likely already familiar with pieces developed in a festival event.
Premiering in the 2002/03 festival, The Quiltmaker’s Gift (based on the book of the same name) was a new work with music by Phoenix composer Craig Bohmler (2025 A Christmas Carol orchestrations), lyrics by Steven Mark Kohn, and a book by Alan J. Prewitt. It was a successful family work that ran as a staple in our youth programming, previously known as the Cookie Company, and gained nationwide traction.
A parody of jukebox musicals, We Ain’t Ever Gonna Break Up: The Hymon & Parkfunkel Musical had audiences doubled over laughing at the 2024 festival. Its wild success earned it a spot in our 2024/25 season. The show is now scheduled for the 2025/26 season of Village Theatre in Washington.
Genius, a musical comedy based on the novel by Patrick Dennis (Auntie Mame), included The Scarlet Pimpernel (Broadway) and The Gilded Age (TV) actor Douglas Sills* alongside Phoenix’s very own Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda* in the 2025 festival musical reading. The new work went on to have a one-night benefit headlined by Matthew Broderick and Sills including Carlisle-Zepeda at New York City’s Lucille Lortel Theatre in April 2025.
Debuting a Celtic-inspired modern musical theater score, The Roads to Loch Lomond was originally showcased as a musical reading in the 2025 festival before making its way to our main season in October of the same year. The stirring musical was beloved by many and hopes to be remounted in the future.
Let the Good Times Roll: A New Orleans Gumbo brought the spirit of its namesake to the 2024 festival in a raw musical reading. The production, including a few of the actors from the original musical reading – Tre Moore* (L.D.), Carmiña Monserrat* (Liza Jane), Gina Guarino* (Wanda) – closed out our 2024/25 season. After its impressive run in Phoenix, Let the Good Times Roll will open on Broadway in the 2026/27 season!
How to Support New Works
Attending and engaging with new works are vital parts of the development process. For most of our events, artists invite audiences to discuss the work they’ve seen and provide feedback. Artists are curious about your thoughts and how their work was perceived.
What to Expect
This is an opportunity to witness how a production goes from the page to the stage!
The 2026 festival will feature annual favorites – a play reading, two musical readings, two Composer Lyricist Cabarets, a Choreography Lab, a 24-hour Theatre Project, Design Panels, and a collaboration with Spotlight Youth Theatre for our First Draft Series: Young Playwrights. We are also introducing a new event – [title to be determined]: An Improvised Musical! Witness the opening and closing performance of a brand-new musical being created right in front of you.
Be part of the evolution of a new work, walk a new path through American theatre.
Event Details
What: Richard P. Stahl Festival of New American Theatre 2026
When: January 9 – 25, 2026
Events: A schedule of events for the duration of the festival can be found at https://phoenixtheatre.com/engage-learn/the-festival-of-new-american-theatre/
Where: The Phoenix Theatre Company, Judith Hardes Theatre, 1825 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004
Tickets: Available at www.phoenixtheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at (602) 254-2151
*Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the U.S.
Click here for a PDF of the full article.
